Appeals court affirms sex offender's sentence

A convicted child molester's 50-year sentence was affirmed Tuesday by the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District.

Samuel J. Farrow Jr. was sentenced by then-Circuit Judge John W. Grimm in May 2002. Farrow was found guilty of kidnapping and sexually abusing two young girls in separate incidents in a trial held in April 2002. Grimm sentenced Farrow to two consecutive 25-year sentences.

Farrow made three claims on appeal. First, he claimed that his confession should have been suppressed because he lacked the mental capacity to knowingly waive his Miranda rights and the confession had been taken after he invoked his right to counsel. He also claimed that Grimm erred in refusing to find him not guilty by reason of mental disease.

The Court of Appeals disagreed with all three claims, noting in its opinion that all three were clearly refuted by the record.